writing2changetheworld

[writing2changetheworld]

Transphobia often comes with a side helping of ableism, so if your trans activism doesn’t support disabled trans people it’s pretty useless.

That includes trans people who are severely disabled. It includes nonverbal trans people. And it includes trans people with intellectual disability.

[writing2changetheworld]

Based off many, many, many asks, I've realized I really need to do a post on the difference between subtitles and captions. This is that post.

Subtitles are just the words spoken aloud. No more.

Captions are the words spoken aloud and any other sounds. Like background noise for example.

Captions are (supposed to be) accessible for hard of hearing and deaf people. Subtitles are not.

There are also 2 types of captions: open and closed.

Open captions are permanently on the screen. You can not turn them off.

Closed captions are just the opposite. You can turn them on and off.

I say "captions" in my posts very intentionally.

[writing2changetheworld]

I agree with the noisy environment part. But I'm also deaf and sign so 🤷🏻‍♀️ lol

For able-bodied and nondisabled people wondering "How do I have a conversation with a wheelchair user? Do I stay standing, do I sit down, do I bend?" I'm here to answer that.

First and foremost and most importantly: ask whoever you're having a conversation with. We're all human beings, we're different, we each have preferences and opinions. What matters to someone might not matter to someone else. What one person prefers, another person might be totally against.

For me personally, I prefer people sitting down in a chair or whatever to talk to me. I prefer being face to face and eye level. If someone cannot sit down for whatever reason(s), just stay standing and ideally, make sure I don’t have to look at the sun to look at you. Something I'm not really cool with at all is someone crouching to the ground just to talk to me. It feels very infantilizing to me.

Other wheelchair users: What do you prefer?

[writing2changetheworld]

Hot take but i think shipping people at smosh is extremely weird and parasocial. They are real people. i get shipping characters they play but when it is the real people (eg. amangela) ITS SO WEIRD!!!!

[writing2changetheworld]

For able-bodied and nondisabled people wondering "How do I have a conversation with a wheelchair user? Do I stay standing, do I sit down, do I bend?" I'm here to answer that.

First and foremost and most importantly: ask whoever you're having a conversation with. We're all human beings, we're different, we each have preferences and opinions. What matters to someone might not matter to someone else. What one person prefers, another person might be totally against.

For me personally, I prefer people sitting down in a chair or whatever to talk to me. I prefer being face to face and eye level. If someone cannot sit down for whatever reason(s), just stay standing and ideally, make sure I don’t have to look at the sun to look at you. Something I'm not really cool with at all is someone crouching to the ground just to talk to me. It feels very infantilizing to me.

Other wheelchair users: What do you prefer?

[writing2changetheworld]

Hey! So the first 2 episodes of Smosh Summer Games have proper subtitles, I just checked. I believe they're taking a couple hours to a day to get the subtitles up and synced, but they will be there. I'm sorry you have to wait for a bit to be able to watch it (genuine), I'm still pretty certain they'll put them up. I think it's a tad dramatic to say you don't know if you'll have the opportunity to be hyped up, because in my experience it's only Smoshalike that lacks proper synced subtitles even after a long time has passed. I really hope you get to watch and enjoy SSG the same as the fandom.

On the side- I'd have appreciated a spoiler warning for the post where you talked about Me Before You. That book is on my TBR and you did spoil the ending. Please do that next time.

If you're talking about this year's, the second episode of the Games didn't come out until today (hours after you sent this ask) (I'm not talking about the Smosh Pit vlog). I also woke up from a nightmare and saw the notification for this ask and checked the captions. 14 hours after posting, the captions were still auto-generated. I then checked it 23 hours after posting (when I woke up) and the captions were no longer auto-generated.

Taking hours to a day to let people who need captions watch a video is exclusion when people who don't need captions are allowed to watch it immediately.

I like how you start your message off "nice" then say you think what I said and feel is "a tad dramatic". (Sarcastic)

I'm glad that's your experience (though, if you need captions, that's not okay of SmoshALike). My experience is this: the Smosh main channel rarely adds captions (the last episode of "Spud Hut" still has auto-generated captions, many episodes of "Bit City" still have auto-generated captions), Smosh Pit has captions available immediately or in hours or in a day or more (even taking until 2 hours after the new video was posted to finish this, the captions are still auto-generated), Smosh Games (where the first episode of the Summer Games is) also has captions available immediately or in hours or in a day or more but sometimes they don't add captions to a video at all, SmoshALike takes hours or days to add captions or they never add captions, Smosh Mouth is decent 99% of the time but there's an episode I talked about that had not auto-generated captions but the YouTube captions and the Tiktok captions for the exact same moment didn't match. Which excludes deaf and hard of hearing people because we can't just hear which one is correct.

Which brings me to my next point: Even when not auto-generated captions are added, they're not always correct.

I have an Instagram post about a "Who Meme'd It" where the captions are not auto-generated but didn't make sense at all.

Then there's an episode of "Culinary Crimes" where they spell the same word differently at 2 different points of the video. Then a different "Culinary Crimes" video that doesn't have auto-generated captions says Angela says something she didn't. Then during a "Reddit Stories" that, again, has captions not auto-generated misspelled Gordon Ramsay's name every time it was said.

Then an episode of "Bit City" ("Boy Moms") that had captions not auto-generated had something in the captions that confused me and I had to ask my hearing mom what was actually said.

Each of these examples, much less all of them, has now made me hesitant to watch any Smosh videos because now I wonder "will I completely understand? Will any of the information I'm given be incorrect just because I'm deaf?".

Each of these examples, much less all of them, also shows me how little Smosh actually care about their deaf (and in turn really any) viewers.

If you disagree and/or can't understand why I care so much about captions, okay. I'm not going to fight about this especially with a stranger on the internet on anonymous mode.

Side note: I am genuinely so sorry I forgot!! I will absolutely do that going forward!

[writing2changetheworld]

Does anyone here have any experience with preventing pressure sores behind the ears from medical devices?

My wheelchair forehead strap is pressing against and rubbing over my glasses arms and causing redness/pain that I really want to avoid getting any worse. The person I saw at the wheelchair clinic said I need some kind of thin layer of gel or similar to protect the skin, but she couldn’t find anywhere that sells anything small/ thin enough.

I was thinking that either a small hydrocolloid dressing (like duoderm) or something like those silicone sheets people use for scars might work?

[writing2changetheworld]

There is no polite or respectful way for a stranger to ask someone to disclose potentially traumatic information

[writing2changetheworld]

I just figured out another way to explain why Smosh not consistently adding captions on YouTube is a problem:

Many people love Summer Games. Many people have been so excited to watch the ones currently happening. As someone who has never seen any, I've definitely been intrigued...except I can't watch it yet. I don't even have the opportunity to be excited because the captions are still auto-generated. And I don't even have an idea if I'll get that opportunity.

[writing2changetheworld]

Preview of my Disabled Cuties Series which will soon be available as both digital downloads and printed coloring book pages in my shop once I make it public so be on the lookout!! https://ogrefairy.com

[ID: a series of 10 images featuring linearts of disabled people with diverse bodies and disabilities, mostly in lingerie with their assisting devices looking confident and hot as themselves]

This series is now offered on my website here: https://www.ogrefairy.com/disabled-cuties

[writing2changetheworld]

Bare Minimum or Less Than?

Something I've realized recently: captions not saying who is speaking is completely less than. Especially when the camera is not on the person speaking.

Many people who use captions are not able to "just hear" who is talking. Not including that information is excluding human beings.

Every other Wednesday I'll post a new "Bare Minimum or Less Than" and it'll be "Is It Welcome Wednesday" (name is TBD lol).

[writing2changetheworld]

One cuss word once ⬇️

I've always known disabled people can be ableist but FUCK.

I just blocked someone who

1.) Tried to excuse something they themself acknowledged was eugenics by saying it's not as bad as other examples

2.) Reblogged another one of my posts (the Blair Imani one) just to yell and complain about it...even though they used to follow me???

[writing2changetheworld]

Hi, I've seen you talking a lot about disabled characters in films. I know you feel that disabled characters should be played by disabled people and I agree, in fact I feel like most films where that is not the case seem to veer towards inspiration porn a lot of the time.

A lot of them seeing disability as a tool in their storytelling and not as a part of the human condition. Music is one that comes to mind where Sia pretty much made a film to say 'look at this autistic girl who has a lot of meltdowns but she has a very creative love for music, isn't that amazing'. Sia also didn't want an autistic actor because she didn't want to accommodate them on set (they 'wouldnt be able to handle the role' apparently). Making films about us without us usually just ends up objectifying the disabled character for the audiences pity or general enjoyment without giving them agency in the narrative. Like the amount of 'sympathy' films cause people feel that disability is this inherently miserable existence so having a disabled character is a great way to make it a sad movie. And that is the entire purpose of that character (though there's some occasional inspiration porn sprinkled in when they do literally anything other than wallow in misery). Disabled actors being a part of the process usually ensures that is not happening, them being hired demonstrating that the producers actually hold some care towards the people they want to portray and them having the ability to question and correct weird things in the script.

Also not having disabled actors in those roles shuns us out of acting altogether because even for those with invisible disabilities you usually can't play non disabled roles. Like I use a cane and there is no way I could put that down and pretend to be able bodied for more than a minute if I'm lucky, and the regular schedules for actors in general would be taxing. It honestly just feels like they want to ensure they can spread their idea of what disability looks like for the sympathy of the masses but not have to spend the extra money to accommodate an actor who is disabled. (Sadly abelism often comes back to capitalism cause if we can't provide cheap labour then why do we exist)

Xxx (you've probs made these points before but I've been thinking abt it)

One mention of suicide and Spoiler warning for "Me Before You" ⬇️

Hi 👋���

I couldn't agree with all of this more!!!

Very inspiration porn a lot! There's actually a movie I want to watch at some point for research to talk about the ableism in it. It's "Me Before You". The physically disabled main character is played by an able-bodied actor and that character apparently kills himself at the end. (I don't have an issue with nondisabled people writing disabled characters but that's where I'm like "leave stories like that to us".)

Yea...I heard about that movie. (I don't know if i want to watch it. I've watched multiple movies where nondisabled people play disabled characters but even just thinking about the movie angers and disgusts me.) I stopped supporting Sia then.

10 times out of 10 I fully believe if a disabled character is played by an able-bodied or nondisabled person that role was written and casted with nondisabled viewers in mind.

"Sympathy" is just as bad as inspiration porn (in my opinion)! Also, disabled characters who are clearly just there to move the nondisabled character's story along. Like "CODA" (another movie I haven't seen and probably won't). The deaf characters are obviously just there to support the hearing character. 🙄 (That one actually has disabled people though.) I also believe there's a level of exploitation that happens when a nondisabled actor plays a disabled character.

I FULLY believe that's what it is. I like to say they want to include us without actually including us.

Mentioning the connection between ableism and capitalism is SO IMPORTANT!! IT'S SO TRUE!

I have yet to talk about almost all of this actually. It's been very surface level "I believe disabled people should play disabled characters" "I disagree" so far.

I do want to say something you might disagree with: you mentioned you use a cane when you talked about invisible disabilities. You can obviously identify however but I see using a mobility device as physically disabled. I personally feel if your disability or disabilities present externally (are physical) at all in any way, shape, or form, you're physically disabled.

Also, able-bodied does not automatically equal nondisabled. An able-bodied Autistic person, for example, is still disabled.

[writing2changetheworld]

Mention of suicide ⬇️

I'm answering an ask and I thought I would share this:

There's a book (turned movie) ("Me Before You") written by an able-bodied or nondisabled person where the quadriplegic main character apparently kills himself at the end (I have yet to read the book and/or watch the movie).

That's where I draw the line. I don't have an issue with nondisabled people writing disabled characters but when it comes to storylines like that, leave it to us.

[writing2changetheworld]

Mention of Nazis ⬇️

It bothers me a lot (and has for a long time) when people don't acknowledge this and I'm done waiting:

Nazis went after and killed disabled people before going after and killing Jewish people.

I think that's a fact worth knowing.

[writing2changetheworld]

Typos

Something I learned a while ago is making fum of people's typos and/or spelling mistakes without consent is ableist and I want to talk about it.

I just recently witnessed someone comment "you're" instead of "your" on a post of mine. I ignored it and didn't focus on the mistake because

1.) That wasn't the point of their comment

2.) I still understood their comment regardless

3.) It was just that. A mistake.

If I made a joke regarding their mistake I would have been ignoring the rest of their comment, assuming they knew and remembered the difference (not everyone does), and/or assuming it wasn't just an accident - a singular mess up (possibly made by autocorrect).

Something else I see a lot is people being shamed, put down, and/or made fun of for is commenting "dead" instead of "deaf"

This bothers me because disabilities and human beings with disabilities exist.

Someone could be using voice to text (as a result of not being able to use their hands, not having hands, being blind, and/or anything else) and it could misinterpret what they said and type the wrong word.

Someone's finger could twitch and they could hit the wrong letter. (The "d" and the "f" being right next to each other on the American English language keyboard makes this entirely possible.)

Someone could have one eye or 2 eyes could be crossed and they think they're hitting the "f" when they're actually hitting the "d" (because, again, those letters are literally right next to each other).

Humans - as well as anything with autocorrect - make mistakes. (Many people with disabilities use autocorrect.) Someone could type the word "deaf" and autocorrect could change it at the last second to "dead". And because those two words share most of the same letters, the person commenting could easily not clock the error.

Automatically assuming someone meant to type the wrong word is also fatphobic. What if a bigger person with bigger fingers is typing and they hit "f" but their device picks up them touching "d" first (because, again, they're each right there)?

Yes, some people type the wrong word on purpose. But some don't. And (depending on the contents of the comment) you can't automatically tell which is which from one misspelled comment.

I've made the mistake of assuming someone meant ill will when they didn't. It happens. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn't acknowledge your mistake and perhaps apologize. And maybe don't assume someone's intentions based off a typo.

I (and many other people) have made the mistake of making jokes about someone’s mistake without consent. Let's all consciously do better going forward.

[writing2changetheworld]

"Healthy" is most often used in reference to infection, disease, and illness, not disability. Wishing for your baby to be born with no life threatening symptoms isn't ableist. Not everything that can endanger a fetus or infant's life counts as a disability, not even remotely. Saying "Oh but people usually mean this or that" is putting words in people's mouths and isn't polite or constructive.

Maybe in your experience that's how it's most often used.

It isn't putting words in people's mouths when I've been told that's what people mean MANY times in my life.

Many able-bodied and nondisabled people (and some physically disabled people) have A LOT of audacity when it comes to ableist shit they say to physically disabled people.